“It isn’t,” he agreed, turning them onto their sides so she didn’t have to feel the brunt of his weight. “It isn’t.” She held him and they spoke little, seeming to take comfort in merely being close to one another. It was what she wanted. It also made her realize that there was more to what they were doing here.
The longer they were together, the longer he sought to protect her, the further into her heart he got. It wasn’t just about him keeping her safe. He cared for her and she for him. Each time she curled around him, he wormed his way further and further into her heart. He had her to the point where she was sure that was where he belonged.
He knew it, too.
It drifted into early afternoon. They remained close on the bed, touching and exchanging comfort in each other’s embrace. At some point, the television was turned on and switched to a news station. It droned on and provided nothing, giving him no insight as to their safety, but it provided background noise. He might have dozed off, and from the soft breaths that teased his hair, he was sure she had.
He was resting with his head pressed against one of her breasts. Not really a bad way to wake up. He definitely enjoyed her breasts, and he had to fight the urge not to rub his face against them. But there was something that had gotten his attention, that kept him from settling back in against her. Was it the TV?
He sat up and glanced at the television. An unfamiliar news anchor informed him of a suspected hacking that had struck the capitol. They were unsure of the amount of information that was exposed and were still investigating where the hacking attack had come from. He grimaced. Not really new news, and definitely not what had interrupted his nap. That wasn’t what got his attention.
He looked to the window. It was then that something caught his attention. There was a shadow there. It was still bright enough outside that shadows would be cast. Someone was outside their room, at their window. Someone was bold enough to try to bring one on him?
“Jovana.” He didn’t move much and he kept his voice low, barely above a whisper. He repeated her name and felt her shift against him. “Get up, go to the bathroom, and lock the door.”
“What?” Her breath caught, then she seemed to process what he said. She slowly edged out from under him, and he shifted as if to cover her, making sure if someone were able to see in their room, that he would be between her and them. When he heard the door close and the latch thrown, he found his pistol in his bag.
Whoever had found them was about to be sorry. He gave the window a cautious look then went to the door, trying to peer through the little peephole. He opened the door and edged out, trying to see if their stalker was still close. A car door closed, and he turned in the direction of the sound, raising his gun.
A rifle stuck out the back window. He didn’t give them the chance to strike first. He fired a short series of shots at the open back window, diving for cover behind the stolen car that brought them here.
Shots were returned, and the car took the bullets for him, keeping him safe. A tire was struck and one of the windows exploded. He drifted toward the trunk, trying to spare the engine. He took aim at the car, spying a familiar Russian agent aiming the rifle. “Bitch,” he growled loud enough in hopes she would hear the insult, and he fired more shots at the car. He took careful aim at the gas tank, deciding he wanted to take them out now and get at least one group off their asses.
There was a yell from the car. Someone knew what he was trying to do when his shots hit, and it immediately sped off. He stood and managed to get a tail light out before they get too far away. Fuck them. He hoped they got pulled over. His heart was pounding and he felt like he accomplished nothing getting them all the way here.
They had been followed the entire time. The safety he felt before they left their tiny motel room was a lie. For every step forward he brought them, there was someone there with them at every step.
Now alone, he made a quick assessment of the car. The front passenger tire was flat. Surely there was a spare. He would have to find out the hard way, but it should be easily fixed. He barged back into the room. The adrenaline was still pumping. If they had the chance, he would do as he said and push her against a wall. But there wasn’t time for that. “Jovana,” he shouted, his heart racing and ears ringing, even with the silencers. But that’s not what had him going.
While all that was going on, he didn’t have the door covered. He was more focused on the car and who was in it. “Jovana!” No one got in there. He had to make sure of it, and he was sure all the shots were fired in his direction. He had to know for a fact that she was fine, that no stray shots could have gotten to her.
She opened the bathroom door and stepped out, her blue eyes wide with fear. Though he doubted she feared for herself, considering the way she looked at him. She was eyeing him, looking for injuries. She didn’t question him and she didn’t ask if he was okay. Her hands knotted up at her chest. She didn’t ask but it was obvious that she wanted to. “We have to get out of here now,” he commanded, and she immediately sprang into action, helping him gather their things so they could get back on the road.
Chapter 13
It didn’t take them long to get back on the road. Paranoia had him eyeing every car that drifted close to them or followed them at any length. It was frustrating to no end and she felt it rolling off him. They didn’t bother clogging the air with small talk.
His focus was kept on the road, and she tried to look for any cars that followed them that looked suspicious. She didn’t have any idea what it was she was looking for. It made her feel useless even though he had instructed how to reload clips to his pistols. Her fingers had worked the bullets into the clip with an efficiency that she contributed to feeling the pressure from what happened back at the motel.
If she hadn’t insisted they stop, they wouldn’t be in this position. He wouldn’t have been nearly shot. This was her fault. He could have been killed and it would have been all her fault.
They plowed through Albuquerque without bothering to stop. When the traffic started to thin out from the large city, she noticed a town car behind them. Fear made her quake, and she glanced at Scott, wondering if he spotted it too.
He had both hands on the wheel, and he appeared to be gripping it so tightly his knuckles were white. That was all the confirmation she needed. He knew they were there.
He didn’t seem to be making any effort in losing the car tailing them this time. He allowed them to continue to follow without any efforts to shake them.
As they passed through a city called Truth or Consequences, her stomach dropped. She spotted another car. This one lingered further back. “There are two cars,” she observed, her stomach knotting up. Who was following them? How many enemies had she earned while she worked for the CIA?
“CIA is probably one,” he told her lightly, deciding not to pull punches. “The other is probably the people who attacked us before. The agent that attacked you a few days ago—pretty sure she’s Russian.”
“Sasha?” she breathed, wincing as she remembered the terror of being paralyzed and stuck under that woman. She had been trying to be persuasive as she was being seductive, and Jovana hadn’t been interested in any of her methods, especially considering she hadn’t been able to move or resist.
“Probably.” He nodded. He wasn’t going to hide how dire their situation had gotten.
“What do we do? Is there anything I can do?” She still had two of his pistols loaded in holsters at the ready. Though what they would do on the interstate, she didn’t know.
“We will have to lose them somehow.” He didn’t sound like he thought they could achieve a feat of shaking two cars. “I have a plan.” He shot her a look, and she could see desperation in his eyes. “Do you trust me?”
“Do you really need to ask?” She tried not to sound offended, but her arms folded over her chest and she might have glared at him. They had come this far because of him. Surely, he couldn’t doubt her faith in him now, could he?
Relief seemed to flood his features. He relaxed back into the seat despite their situation. “Glad to hear you say that.” He took the first exit, getting off the I-25, and began winding their way through the city of Las Cruces. They were so close to the border.
They lost one of the tails, though she thought that it didn’t seem to make the effort to stay on them like the other car did. Did they realize there was another car following them? Were they working together or not? She didn’t know, but she was relieved to see one less car behind them.
The other didn’t waver from the position they had behind them. If anything, it followed them closely to the point that if they had any doubts that they were being followed before, it was more obvious now.
“One down,” he said to her. “One to go. Time for evasive maneuvers.” He punched the gas and took them outside the city, away from the highways and miles from the interstate. She worried, but she remembered that she trusted him. He hadn’t done her wrong yet.
When Scott veered off the road and started taking them into the desert, she started to worry more. The ride began to get bumpy the further they got away from the road. The spare tire probably didn’t help the ride, nor did the fact that he was driving faster than was probably safe with a spare and off-road. At the first large dune, though, he had them rolling to a stop. “Ever fire a gun before?”
“I have some training,” she admitted, striving to think back at the time she had put in at the gun range. It was very unlikely that it would have prepared her for this situation. “But I doubt that my aim is as good as yours.”
“As long as you don’t shoot me or you, I think that will be fine.” He grabbed his duffle bag and they both got out of the car. He led them over the top of the dune, both of them struggling with their footing and trying their best to rush, but when she spotted the cloud of sand, their pursuers weren’t that far behind and she ducked down. He took time to check a pistol and pointed out the safety for her before offering it to her.
He then took out a small rifle from the bag. She didn’t even have a name for it. It came in pieces, and as soon as he had it together, he was steadying it in the sand and taking aim on the approaching car. With the rifle in hand, she saw him seem to center himself. It was like every noise around them quieted as he took aim. This was him in his element and he was deadly.
While this wasn’t her element, she did take a breath and tried to calm the worries in her mind. She spread out on her stomach and watched the car warily as she took aim at it with her borrowed pistol. She doubted that she would be able to hit it seriously, even with it coming straight at them in a straight line.
He didn’t wait or speak. As soon as he seemed to have the shot that pleased him, he took it. The car swerved and slowly rolled to a stop, letting them both know he had hit something. “One down,” he growled softly, and she watched him take aim again. “One to go.”
She watched as the door flew open and the other person in the car flew out of it in a flash. She heard Scott begin to curse under his breath. “Definitely Sasha. Definitely the Russians,” he commented as he stood carefully, still using the dune as cover. “Give me your pistol and use the scope on the rifle to keep an eye on her movement.
If you see her getting close to you or whatever, don’t hesitate to take her out.” He seemed to see her doubt and he got close, getting in her face. “If you let her get to you, she will hurt you and she won’t kill you until she gets everything she wants from you.”
She offered him the pistol he had given her, nodding shakily. She had never killed anyone before, and the idea didn’t appeal to her. She had grown up in a warzone, but the only time she saw death was at someone else’s hands. She worked for the CIA, but she was an analyst and she’d never pointed a gun at another person.
She didn’t hesitate to do as he told her, quickly taking up the rifle and aiming it where they had seen the remaining pursuant had taken cover. There were boulders, a cactus, and a twisted husk of a tree for her to hide behind. She fought to find the woman, spying movement behind a boulder. She tensed her finger at the trigger. “The rock!”
A shot came from behind it, quicker than she could react to retaliate. Sand kicked up to her left and she realized that she was the target. Perhaps Sasha didn’t realize she had the rifle. She kept watch as Scott drifted through the sand to their car. He kept his pistol trained on Sasha as he made his way to her, trying to be as subtle in his movement as he could. Thinking she could help, she fired a shot at the boulder, watching as bits of rock shattered when the bullet struck.
“We just want the girl,” the other woman shouted. There was an edge to her voice, and it was obvious she realized the trouble she was in. “Give her up and you can walk away! We would even be willing to compensate you!” Jovana couldn’t help the hysteria that had her pulling the trigger again. The idea of being given to the Russians frightened her. Scott wouldn’t do it. He wouldn’t give her up.
She saw him closing in on the boulder and refrained from squeezing the trigger again. “Sorry,” she hollered for him to keep Sasha distracted from him. “Not interested!” She watched with satisfaction as he managed to catch the other woman by surprise, cracking the butt of the pistol against her head and effectively knocking her out.
She took that as a sign that it was safe. She stood, her grip on the rifle tight as she went to join him. He didn’t wait for her. He immediately went to the car the Russians had come in. He tugged the driver from the car. It was apparent that when he shot the rifle, his aim had been impeccable. The man was dead and no longer a threat by any means.
“Are you going to . . .” She turned to look back at the unconscious Sasha. It would simplify so many things if he just killed her, but as soon as she had the thought, she choked. This woman hadn’t tried to kill her, but she intended to interrogate her through a means that frightened her.
“I don’t like to kill women,” he said as he started to take their things from their car and load it into this one. “She’ll be out for a while and will have the fun of dealing with the elements. That’ll give us enough time to cross the border and get on a plane to Brazil.” He came and took the rifle from her. “We’ve got to get on the move again. We don’t have time to dwell on this. The longer we stall, the less time we have between us and the other car that was following us.”
He paused, eyeing the car they had been in, and leveled his pistol at the tires, shooting all of them out. “Wouldn’t be a good idea to play fair in this game, though.”
She jumped then nodded, unable to argue, and began to help him load their things into the new car. They left the unconscious operative in the sand, and hopefully, out of the game completely.
Chapter 14
The drive to the border was short and Scott had to swallow his impatience and tied up nerves as the guard eyed their documents critically. There was the urge to growl and demand for him to hurry.
But, he didn’t want to raise any suspicion or give them a reason to look too closely at what was their car. Not with a car that had an obvious bullet hole in the windshield or passports and IDs that were fake. They declared nothing, just going on a little honeymoon adventure!
The guard took the time to stamp their passports before passing back any of their documents. He didn’t say a word about the bullet hole and sent them on their way. “Thank you,” Scott said with an air of decorum that he didn’t feel, but it seemed necessary to be polite.
“The last stretch to freedom. Almost safe.” He turned to Jovana, seeing her discomfort. “Just two hours to a private airport. Then we’ll be in Brazil and able to take time for other things.” He tried to grin, but he was still keyed up from the encounter with the Russians in the desert. Really, he would give anything to just be able to sink into her embrace and thrust into her heat after all of that.
“Be normal?’ she asked curiously.
“I don’t know about you.” He couldn’t help but grin and managed it this time. “But after all that, I have the worst case of bl
ue balls. I can’t wait for a chance to bend you over and celebrate the fact that we’re both still alive.” He laughed a little. “Really, that was some good shooting and spotting there. It could’ve been a whole lot hairier.”
She snorted, and he could see she was unimpressed with his poor attempts at being romantic. Was he being romantic? “Sex is what you are looking forward to?”
“Not sex,” he corrected, reaching over to grasp her hand. “The fact that both of us have managed to get out of the country and are on our way to freedom. Real freedom. I want to celebrate being alive.” He began drawing patterns on her wrist with his thumb. “To take time to learn all that I can about Jovana and explore every inch of her that I can. To find out what makes her tick, what makes her happy.”
She chuckled, leaning over to kiss his cheek. “And sex. You want that, too, without the worry of someone coming in to kill us.” She gave his cheek a pinch afterward. “You do not fool me.”
“I want you,” he assured her. “Every bit of you, not just the parts that are fun and I enjoy.” He started to relax as he put more distance between them and the border. He was so content in the false sense that they were now safe that he didn’t notice the dark sedan creeping behind them. As far as he was aware, they were safe and had taken care of the real enemy. However, those hadn’t been trying to kill them and weren’t as deadly as the other pursuer.
Chapter 15
“Every step,” he said to her as they boarded the little plane, “goes from being us versus them to just you and me.” He seemed to be thrilled at the prospect of less danger. Going from a hard-edged warrior to a man who wanted to do nothing more than curl up around her. He doted on her and held her hand in a way that was less meant for comfort and more so meant to appear as a man in love.
Lethal Seduction: A CIA Romantic Suspense (CIA Agents Book 1) Page 8